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Stephen Curry is hobbled. But the show goes on.
Just ask Draymond Green, who is fully confident in the Golden State Warriors’ playoff chances even though Curry left Tuesday’s series opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves because of a strained left hamstring.
The Warriors cruised to a 99–88 win despite losing Curry in the second quarter.
“Robin turned into Batman,” Green explained. “Alfred turned into Robin, and they just filled in. It was beautiful to see.”
If the Warriors want to grab a 2–0 series lead on the road Thursday night, they likely will have to shuffle their starring roles once again.
The original Batman is Curry, of course. He averaged 24 points per game in the Warriors’ first-round win against the Houston Rockets, and he drew attention from defenders that helped free up many of his teammates on the offensive end of the court.
Curry was off to a great start in Game 1 at Minnesota. He had 13 points in his first 13 minutes, and the Warriors built an early lead to subdue a Timberwolves crowd that was eager to see a win.
But Curry grabbed his left leg after making a floating jump shot. He signaled toward the bench that something seemed wrong, and he quickly left the game and never returned.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said he was planning for Game 2 without his veteran sharpshooter. Curry is expected to undergo an MRI on Wednesday to learn more about the severity of the injury.
“We don’t know yet,” Kerr said. “But with a hamstring, it’s hard to imagine that he would play Thursday.”
So, what happens when Batman is out?
Robin gets the call.
In this case, that means Jimmy Butler. He flirted with a triple-double in Game 1 as he finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists in 41 minutes.
Butler loves the spotlight. He has played along with being Robin to Curry’s Batman this season, but everyone knows that he is an alpha at heart. Look for him to try to take control in Game 2.
Will it work? That’s the harder question to answer.
Minnesota is a great defensive team despite showing some breakdowns in Game 1. The Timberwolves will be desperate to salvage a game at home before the series shifts west, and coach Chris Finch almost certainly will draw up a game plan to try to frustrate Butler as much as possible.
If Robin becomes Batman, as Green explained, then Alfred will need to fill Robin’s role. In this case, that means Buddy Hield will be asked to step up and fill some of the void left by Curry.
Hield has shown he can handle the extra responsibilities. He scored 33 points on 12-for-15 shooting — including 9-for-11 from 3-point range — in Game 7 at Houston, and he stayed hot on Tuesday night with a team-high 24 points while making five of eight shots from distance.
It’s reasonable to think that Hield will cool off soon, perhaps as soon as Game 2. He’s a good shooter, but he averaged 11.1 points during the regular season, and at some point one would think he would regress to the mean.
Green left himself out of the Batman description, but clearly he is the villain in any show. He had a strong series opener in which he finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
Perhaps equally as important, Green played with an edge but stayed careful not to go over the edge. He will have to take that approach again Thursday, especially if the action intensifies and the Timberwolves try to beat him at his own game by getting under his skin.
It’s too soon to know if Curry will be back in the series and, if so, how soon.
Don’t count out the Warriors, though.
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